It's like we never said goodbye..

Bangkok Travel Blog

Arrived at BKK airport at 8.30am Thai time, with the plan to meet Ruby and James. I was hopefully expecting a joyful reunion with Ruby who I haven’t seen since my departure at Heathrow last November. I got through customs etc with only a member of a travel agency waiting for me with mine and some of the groups train tickets. Well at least he was reliable! I trailed around trying Ruby’s phone, Derek’s phone and Mel’s with no answer. Mel called back but was in a different hotel to Ruby so wasn’t sure what was happening. Eventually Ruby called me ��" she was in the airport with James looking for me but the connection was terrible. I told her many times I was at Gate C but somehow she couldn’t hear or understand that. I went outside into the heat and humidity and eventually found her and James.

Lunch at the Wild Orchid

Well that was one relief. Now for the eye-opening taxi ride into the city.

The traffic of Bangkok is crazy.. seatbelts aren’t worn, giving way is purely a discretional or life saving option and riding in the back of an open ute or truck is considered a normal mode of transport. On major highways and motorways. The traffic weaved, swerved and somehow managed to seem like choreographed chaos. Tooting ones horn is a courtesy or warning call. In Australia it’s the beginning of roadrage.

It took us about 40minutes in peak traffic to get to Kho San Road, and cost 600baht. We unloaded, trying to avoid being hit by oncoming traffic and tuk-tuks and made our way onto the famous road.

My first thai beer...

KHo San is thriving with backpackers, families, few locals, mostly selling their goods and food. The smells are amazing, in a good and bad sense. One moment the delicious smells of pad thai and fried rice are wafting by, the next you’re hit with the stench of sewerage.

We got to the budget hotel we’re they’d been staying, the Rikka Inn. Ruby and James went off to her room, while I sought out my fave other blokes. Ruby was not to be my shadow anymore. It was great to have the time to catch up with some of the best blokes, guys I met last year and travelled with in Europe. Derek and Bryan, fave Irish lads and Jeff, the ever sneaky Russian-come-New Yorker! And I also got to meet our token Dutch man for the trip ��" Bennie!

From there we went out onto the street to get ourselves some lunch (breakfast for me!).

PAD THAI!!!

We walked a little out of Kho San road to a quieter area with some lovely looking restaurants and guesthouses. We ended up in one called the Wild Orchid, where we met up with Ashley, Mel and Jules. I’ve met and travelled with Ashley before, so it was great to see her again, but it was awesome to finally meet the ‘teachers’ Jules and Mel. We ordered lunch and beers and enjoyed a relaxed lunch. Nothing can be too strenuous in the midday heat of Bangkok. I repeatedly made the mistake on this trip of ordering large beers as they’re cheaper, but they go warm so quickly!

After lunch we wandered about taking in shops and bars. We started the tour of the buckets with a few red bull vodka buckets to get us kick started! We all met back up at about 5pm to get taxis out to the train station where we would be taking our overnight sleeper train from BKK to Suratthani.

First of many buckets..

Prior to arriving in Thailand I’d booked tickets for Derek, Bryan, Ashley, Mel and I ��" while Jeff had booked tickets for the rest of the crew. So we got split up into two groups, two carriages and go comfortable for our ride. The only problem with us being split up was that the ‘Party Train’ concept went out the window. We had the booze while the other group had the spirits. Didn’t bother us much.. we could drink it straight. We were saved from a potentially messy and drunken train ride by a small, cheeky little train conductor who brought around beer for us. He got us in the mood by singing ‘Singha beer, Singha beer, Singha all the way....!’We were sold. We even bought him a beer for being so cool. From there we decided to play celebrity heads style game, who am I? So we kept ourselves entertained for a good while, feeling sleep and tipsy playing this game and singing with the crazy train guy!

After 24+ hours without sleep I started to get a little hysterical like I tend to and figured it was time to put myself to bed. I had a lower bunk which had been recommended to me. I got changed and curled up in my little bunk and enjoyed the train rocking me to sleep. It really was quite comfortable and even enjoyable.